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My father and I went to King's Beach in Newport, RI for my first shore dive in the ocean. We had a BLAST!
Dive #11 - Monday 9/15/14, 70degrees and sunny, surface water temp of 69 and bottom of 66. 5kt winds from the west with a high tide @ 1:40 PM. First dive @ 1:30, max depth 20 fsw, with fair to good visibility. No current, minimal surge. This was a very long dive, as we took our time with everything. It was my first dive without a guide, and his first in 20+ years. This means we had to navigate underwater ourselves for the first time. It was also my first time towing a dive flag. We swam out to the W point of the first cluster of rocks visible at high tide S from shore. There we made our decent to about 15ft and traveled south through sand/eel grass out to the island/reef. The visibility close to shore and in the eelgrass was poor. I couldn't tell you what I would estimate the vis to be, because I have no idea what qualifies for what...
Once we reached the "island" we began to loop around to the south side of it and the visibility became MUCH better, as did the marine life. Beautiful different colors all swaying with the surge with hundreds of fish bustling about. No lobsters, eels, or skates to our dismay. I truly loved the spot though, a lot to see and without a guide we can finally just sit and enjoy the scenery (no hustling after a DM in your 3$ rented joblot fins) We were going to try to go around island and come back to shore from the east however it looked like a narrow passage very close to the surface with small waves crashing down soo we decided to head back around the west side. When we finally got some of our gear off and to the car it was 15:30 :shocked2: we had spent a solid 2 hours in the water! and still had air to spare.
Dive #12 - Logistics the same as dive #11, however the tide had gone out quite a bit as the dive was started @ 15:50. We submerged and went straight out to the island as that is where all the life seemed to be. The tide was going out, surge was stronger and we encountered a few weak currents. The shallower water/beaming sun made for some great visibility. We got around to the south side and hung out for a solid 20 mins enjoying the schools of fish and watching the waves break above.
When I first arrived I saw a man with CT plates unloading a kayak and dive flag which he put in the water rowing far into the distance (few hundred yards) before dropping in... also so a spearfisherman with a kayak unloading at the Green Bridge.
As you can tell I am very new to diving, but loving it. I want to dive the Green Bridge next.
Dive #11 - Monday 9/15/14, 70degrees and sunny, surface water temp of 69 and bottom of 66. 5kt winds from the west with a high tide @ 1:40 PM. First dive @ 1:30, max depth 20 fsw, with fair to good visibility. No current, minimal surge. This was a very long dive, as we took our time with everything. It was my first dive without a guide, and his first in 20+ years. This means we had to navigate underwater ourselves for the first time. It was also my first time towing a dive flag. We swam out to the W point of the first cluster of rocks visible at high tide S from shore. There we made our decent to about 15ft and traveled south through sand/eel grass out to the island/reef. The visibility close to shore and in the eelgrass was poor. I couldn't tell you what I would estimate the vis to be, because I have no idea what qualifies for what...
Once we reached the "island" we began to loop around to the south side of it and the visibility became MUCH better, as did the marine life. Beautiful different colors all swaying with the surge with hundreds of fish bustling about. No lobsters, eels, or skates to our dismay. I truly loved the spot though, a lot to see and without a guide we can finally just sit and enjoy the scenery (no hustling after a DM in your 3$ rented joblot fins) We were going to try to go around island and come back to shore from the east however it looked like a narrow passage very close to the surface with small waves crashing down soo we decided to head back around the west side. When we finally got some of our gear off and to the car it was 15:30 :shocked2: we had spent a solid 2 hours in the water! and still had air to spare.Dive #12 - Logistics the same as dive #11, however the tide had gone out quite a bit as the dive was started @ 15:50. We submerged and went straight out to the island as that is where all the life seemed to be. The tide was going out, surge was stronger and we encountered a few weak currents. The shallower water/beaming sun made for some great visibility. We got around to the south side and hung out for a solid 20 mins enjoying the schools of fish and watching the waves break above.
When I first arrived I saw a man with CT plates unloading a kayak and dive flag which he put in the water rowing far into the distance (few hundred yards) before dropping in... also so a spearfisherman with a kayak unloading at the Green Bridge.
As you can tell I am very new to diving, but loving it. I want to dive the Green Bridge next.
